As we approach the fourth of July here in the US with all the patriotic colors and symbols that accompany it I began thinking about how these are translated into gardens. Stars, stripes, plus the colors of red, white and blue can fill a garden with tons of celebration. As I researched these items...

Having good contrast on a landscape plan makes it easier to read. One way to add contrast is to include shadows on plants (and objects). Shadows not only make your drawing easier to read, but they also add depth. There are two types of shadows: PLANT SHADOWS: Those on the plant itself GROUND S...

In the last few weeks I've received several questions about how to choose colors when rendering a landscape plan in marker. In response to your excellent inquiries I've shared my own guidelines and steps below, plus created three marker color combinations that I've seen my students use or I've tr...

A few years ago I had the opportunity to present at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival in Orlando, Florida. An amazing experience that allowed me to not only meet wonderful Disney staff and enthusiastic gardeners, but also the fortune of taking in all the beautiful horticulture di...

You've decided where to place your new planting bed, what size it should be and now you face the ominous task of choosing the plants that go inside it. There are thousands of plants. How do you whittle them down?  The first thing I do is create a possible list of plants, then sit down and draw my...

To help my students understand the concept of garden rooms, I created an activity called The Pop-Up Garden.  When temperatures drop, I thought this might also be a fun indoor activity for garden groups, individuals or families wanting to plan their garden spaces.  Keep this in mind: ...

We are currently learning about color pencil in my landscape graphics class, so I made this tutorial on rendering a plant symbol for my students.  As with most of my drawings, I tend to keep it pretty simple in hopes you'll experiment with color a bit as you design your garden. Don't forget to ch...

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to visit Disney World for spring break.  I think I was just as excited as my kids (maybe even more).  I had two big reasons for my enthusiasm - an opportunity to spend an entire week with my family sans electronics, plus the good fortune of being immer...

Once the holidays end in December, it seems that January and February can dwell on as we yearn for spring to arrive. To add a bright light to these short, dark days, I made a list of three ways to love your garden through the winter months. Photo courtesy of The Enchanted Home 1.   CREATE A W...

I've been wanting to do a proper marker rendering tutorial for awhile, but haven't carved out the time, so thought I'd share a quick sketch I did for my students in the meantime.  It's pretty rough, but does show my simple approach to rendering a plant symbol in marker. As you'll see below I'm...